beautiful
by pink-strawberry-lemonade
Summary: "I was an ocean away from Nina; this troubled me greatly, and I couldn't even be there to comfort her." / a continuing saga of nina & fabian, told from both of their perspectives. / forever incomplete.
1. the beginning

**beautiful**

_chapter 1: the beginning_

* * *

_"Did you just call me beautiful?" I had to be positively beaming at this point. It wasn't enough that Fabian had asked me to be his date, and we were elected Prom King and Queen by Amber; oh, no. He just called me _beautiful_._

_ "Yeah," Fabian replied bashfully, smiling back at me. I softly giggled._

_ "So why did you go back down into the cellar?" He asked me, curiosity filling his gaze._

_ "All that can wait," I whispered, "This can't." I leaned in, and pressed my lips to Fabian's. Soon, our lips were moving in unison._

_ I guess it didn't really help that we were interrupted by cheers and whistles from the crowd._

_ It also didn't help that my dream was now being interrupted by Amber._

"Nines," she whispered, gently shaking me, "Ninaaaa, wake up!"

"Amber," I whined, "I was having a good dream!"

"Lemme guess," she replied, placing her hands on her hips, "Fabian?"

I blushed. "Maybe."

"Oh, I knew it!" she gushed, racing to my bedside, "Tell me _all_ about it! I wanna know absolutely _everything_!"

"After breakfast," I insisted, pushing my covers off and gently making my way past Amber.

"Aww, Nines," she whimpered.

"Come on," I said, taking her by the arm, "Let's see what Trudy made for breakfast."

When we stepped into the dining room, we saw Jerome, Mara, Mick, Alfie, Joy, and Patricia already at the table.

"What's for breakfast?" I asked, taking my seat. Trudy brought out a platter of pancakes, and said, "Hotcakes, love! I hear you all had a good time at the dance last night."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and when I looked at Trudy, she winked at me. I turned back to my plate, smiling as I dug in to the pancakes. I was absolutely famished.

"Good morning, Fabian," Amber greeted as Fabian walked in. I looked over my shoulder and smiled at him.

"Good morning, everyone," he said in general. Once he sat to my right, he said, "Good morning, Nina."

"Morning," I smiled again, and knew I was blushing, so I continued eating. Meanwhile, I could practically _feel_ Amber's gaze penetrating me.

The next time I looked up from my plate, I saw everyone's eyes going back and forth between Fabian and myself, only letting up to exchange knowing looks with each other.

I could tell this was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Nines, come look at this!" Amber peeked over her laptop. We were all sitting in the common room, and I had been helping Trudy clean up from breakfast.

"Yes, Amber?" I replied, sitting next to her. I saw pictures of all of us in Anubis House on the screen.

"It's a new game I found on my profile!" Amber explained, and I tried to seem interested. But, I saw from the corner of my eye that Fabian was looking at me, and I blushed slightly.

"See," she continued, trying to actually grasp my attention, "You just put a picture of one person over here…" She clicked and dragged a picture of me to an empty square on the left.

"…And drag another picture here!" Amber picked up a picture of Fabian and dragged it to the other square.

"Then, when you press enter, you can see what it would look like if those two people had a baby! Isn't that adorable?" Amber was positively beaming as my face turned beat red. Sure enough, on the screen there was a picture of a brown haired, hazel eyed baby, smiling a toothless, baby grin. Mara came over and awww-ed, calling Patricia over as well. Patricia laughed and drew the attention of Jerome.

"It looks like a mini Fabian!" Patricia announced, and when Fabian heard his name, he perked up.

"With Nina's eyes, of course!" Amber added, just _waiting_ for our reactions. If it was possible, my face would have gotten redder. My eyes locked with Fabian's, and I could see that he was blushing as well.

I noticed in my peripheral vision that an annoyed-looking Joy was glaring at us.

"Nina," she spoke up, and we all turned our heads, "May I speak with you?"

"Uh," I replied nervously, "Sure!"

I followed her hesitantly into the kitchen. She leaned against the counter, and I stood by the oven.

"Soo…" she began awkwardly, and I looked at her questioningly. She cocked her head to the side before continuing.

"You and Fabian, huh?" Joy finally spoke, and I felt my face getting hot all over again.

"Oh," I was a little taken aback by her sudden approach to it, but I had sort of seen it coming.

"I mean," I started, not quite sure how to explain it, "I like him, and he did ask me to the prom last night…and, we did kiss…"

"Oh…" Joy's mouth formed a small O, and her eyes looked more downcast.

"I'm sorry," I immediately apologized, although I wasn't sure what for. She looked back up at me, and smiled softly.

"Nina, it's okay," she comforted, "I mean, I really only liked him a little, and I certainly didn't act on it. I knew he didn't like me that way, so I guess it doesn't really matter."

"I'm sorry," I repeated, "I just don't want you to feel like I've replaced you. I have a feeling that's what everyone thought when I first showed up…"

"Nina," Joy stepped closer to me, breaking me out of my ramble, "You haven't replaced me. I'm sure we can be great friends."

"Okay," I sighed, relieved. But, as we walked out of the kitchen, I had a feeling that something still wasn't right.

* * *

**A/N: So, here we go! My first attempt at a _House of Anubis_ multi-chapter fanfic. I want to work extra hard on this one, so updates will be fewer and farther between, but hopefully you'll all be patient with me! So, enjoy! R&R :)**


	2. lovebirds

**beautiful**

_chapter 2: lovebirds_

* * *

We spent most of the day hanging out, and having fun. There were only a couple more days until summer break officially began; plus, now that all this "Chosen One" mess was behind us, I felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.

Soon I found myself at Fabian's side on the loveseat, laughing along with a joke Jerome told us. Amber wiggled her eyebrows at me, and I didn't realize why until I looked to my right; Fabian's arm was casually draped behind me. I tried not to blush.

I heard Jerome make a comment about lovebirds and I snapped out of it, playfully scoffing at him.

"Aw, come on now," Jerome retorted, "Take a joke." I smiled, letting a giggle escape my lips.

"Yeah, yeah," I replied, slightly rolling my eyes.

"I'm going to miss you guys so much!" Amber suddenly blurted, a couple tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Oh, Amber," I got up immediately and hugged her, which just made her cry harder.

I started thinking. Summer break began in a few days, and I had a _lot_ of packing to do. I wondered what would happen. After all, I live an ocean away from everyone else. A lot more things would get in the way of our friendships: time zones, international cell phone charges, and the fact that we can't exactly hang out, either.

Then, I wondered what would become of Fabian and I. Were we even together now? This thought hadn't come to me last night.

Soon, I felt tears falling down my own cheeks as well.

"Aw, Nines," Amber hugged me tighter, "Don't cry!" With that, everyone joined in on our hug. And, I felt another pair of very familiar arms around my waist.

When the big group hug broke apart, I spun around to hug Fabian back. He stroked my hair gently as I tried to keep myself from crying once more. After my breathing evened out, he pulled away to look me in the eye.

"Are you okay?" He whispered, smiling slightly.

"Yeah," I giggled, as Fabian wiped away my tears with the soft pad of his thumb. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear just before I wrapped my arms around his neck once more, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Aww," I heard Amber coo, probably beaming.

"Get a room," Mick joked, "Just not ours, mate."

We all laughed, and Trudy called us for lunch.

* * *

I looked around the room I've shared with Amber for pretty much the whole term. It was getting a lot less pink as she packed things away. My side of the room was becoming plainer as well. I sighed, sitting down on my bed.

"What's wrong?" Amber asked me, sitting across from me on her bed.

"I don't know," I said, but then started blabbering, "I mean, I have no clue what relationship Fabian and I have and Joy said she and I could be friends but I'm kind of afraid of her and I really don't want to have my Gran get mad at me over the summer for the long-distance charges on my cell phone and I won't see you guys for like three months and I'll have to re-apply for the scholarship and what if I don't get to come back? And what if I never see you guys again? And what if—"

"Nines," Amber said, placing her hands on my shoulders as I rambled on, "NINA!"

"What?" I broke out of my trance.

"Calm down," she reassured me, "Everything is going to be fine. Joy won't hurt you, long-distance charges are _never_ that expensive, you're a shoo-in for the scholarship, and you and Fabian are _meant_ for each other!"

"Okay," I sighed, smiling at her. Then, there was a knock on the door.

"It's Fabian," a voice on the other side announced.

Amber squealed as I said, "Come in, Fabes!"

"Hey," he said as I opened the door, "I just wanted to see if you needed help packing."

"What, trying to rush me out of here?" I joked.

"Of course not," he replied, smiling back at me, "So, since you don't need any help, wanna go for a walk?"

"I could use a break," I sighed once more, looking around the room. Amber gave me an encouraging smile before Fabian took my hand, and led me out the door.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed chapter 2! Sorry the update took so long, but like I said, few and far between. So stay with me! ^-^**


	3. secret date

**beautiful**

_chapter 3: secret date_

* * *

The sun began to hide behind the trees as Fabian and I walked along the edge of the forest. I admired the stone wall, remembering when we'd used it as a hiding place from Victor. Then, I peeked over the wall to see the house towering over us. Its high roof dared to touch the blue sky, but the building no longer seemed menacing to me, as it had on my first day. The house was now…home.

More tears threatened to fall, and I tried to hold them back. I took a deep breath, which was very shaky, to my chagrin.

"Nina, what's wrong?" Fabian turned to me, his eyes filled with compassion.

"It's just…" I paused to take another deep breath, this one stronger, "This place is like a second home. And I don't wanna leave."

"I know how you feel," he said softly, stepping in front of me. He took both my hands in his.

"When I first came here," he continued, "I thought for sure I was going to be homesick. But I only got homesick when I left on break. This place is really…unique."

"In more ways than one," I added, giggling slightly at my own comment. I noticed Fabian kind of…staring at me.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I scrutinized him, waiting for his answer. He just shifted his gaze to lock with mine, flashing me the most beautiful smile in the world. We stood there for a moment or two; lost in each others' eyes, the sun slowly setting behind us.

"You're beautiful," he whispered to me, never breaking eye contact.

"You know, someone told me that once," I replied playfully, "He was smart…and not too bad looking himself." I winked at him, and pecked him lightly on the lips. Fabian then casually put his arm around my shoulders, and we continued walking.

However, the impending prospect of summer was still scaring me. Okay, I do still have friends back in the States. But, I feel guilty; I haven't exactly paid much attention to them since getting here. I'm not quite sure how I'll be received when I get back.

"What are you thinking about?" Fabian whispered, bringing me out of my train of thought.

"Nothing, really," I replied, smiling at him. We made our way back to the house, as dusk was nearly upon us.

* * *

I stared up at my ceiling, deep in thought. I took a deep breath, turning my head to see if Amber was asleep. She was, and I couldn't blame her. We had both been so tired. Yet, here I am, lying in my bed at two-something in the morning, not sleeping.

I sighed, half in frustration, half in boredom. The light of the moon was streaming through the window, dotting my comforter. I closed my eyes, trying to sink into a slumber. It didn't really work.

Somehow I came to the conclusion that a glass of water would help, and I soon found myself wandering down to the kitchen. I still think the house is a little creepy at night, but we've wandered around it so much at this hour that I could care less at this point.

What I didn't expect, however, was to run into Fabian.

"Fabes, you scared me," I whispered when he snuck up behind me.

"Sorry," he replied, grinning. He began rummaging through the cupboards.

"Um," I started, "What are you doing down here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Miss Martin," he joked, then continued, "Trudy is always making cookies and hiding them so Mick can't get to them. I'm just grabbing a few for a midnight snack."

"Can I steal one, too?"

"Go ahead."

I snatched a chocolate chip cookie from Fabian's hand after we found them. He had been raising it to his mouth, about to eat it. I giggled quietly as I tiptoed out of the kitchen to the hallway. Just when I thought he'd gotten off my trail, a pair of strong arms was lifting me away from the staircase, spinning me around a few times before setting me back down.

When Fabian turned to me, I shoved the rest of the cookie I had been eating into my mouth before he could take it back. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but I placed my finger over his lips, and then pointed upstairs. Victor was probably in his office, and wouldn't be happy if he caught us out of bed.

We heard footsteps just then, and my eyes widened. If it was Victor, we were most likely going to be stuck with bathroom duty for the next semester. Fabian saw my panicked look, and cupped my face in his hands.

"Goodnight," he whispered urgently, pecking me on the lips before soundlessly bounding back to his room. I tried to stay as light-footed as possible, and made my way both past Victor's office and back into my room without a hitch.

Yet, just when I thought I was in the clear, as soon as I shut my bedroom door behind me, Amber was facing me with her arms crossed and a look that said "oh-my-gosh-where-were-you-I-bet-you-were-totally-on-another-secret-date-with-Fabian!"

And that's exactly what she said to me.

"We were _not_ on a secret date, Amber!" I whisper-shouted, trying to get her to quiet down. Now, I believed that I could actually get to sleep; at this point, though, Amber would never let me.

"Then what were you two doing?" she asked impatiently, cocking an eyebrow. I sighed reluctantly before explaining,

"I just went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and I found Fabian looking for cookies. That's it."

Amber paused, almost as if she knew I was leaving something out. I soon saw the wheels turning in her head.

"You two kissed, didn't you?" she gushed.

"If I say yes, will you let me go to bed?"

"Maybe."

"Then yes, we kissed."

"OHMIGOSH‼!" That's when I knew I wasn't getting any sleep tonight.

* * *

**A/N: So, I'm finally back with a new chapter. I'm sorry if it seems like things are moving slowly, but I'm just trying to set the scene. I hope you enjoyed, and stick with me! I don't own HoA (unfortunately).**


	4. goodbye

**beautiful**

_chapter 4: goodbye_

* * *

The fleeting days we had left were now gone, and tomorrow was when I would be going back to America. All of my things were packed, except my change of clothes and other necessities for the next morning. All we had left to do was wait.

Fabian and I were sitting on a bare mattress in the empty shell of the room I had shared with Amber all semester. We were making small talk, but soon our lips were touching. I hadn't exactly realized how much I would long for Fabian's touch until now. I wanted this to last as long as possible; it was perfect.

I ran my fingers through his smooth hair and his hands moved rhythmically up and down my back. We began kissing more ferociously ("snogging", as Amber would say). I was milking this for all it was worth; if I got my fair share of Fabian now, maybe I would miss him a little less.

"I love you," Fabian quietly moaned into my mouth. I suddenly became still. He noticed, and pulled away. His eyes widened in fear once he realized what he had said.

The door flew open and I heard a voice say, "Oh, am I…interrupting?"

Fabian blushed fiercely, and I'm pretty sure I was red, too. I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't make a sound.

"I'm sorry," the intruder sounded a bit flustered themselves, and closed the door behind them as they left.

"It's okay, Joy," Fabian muttered a little too late.

You could practically feel the awkward in the air. Fabian stared at me, but I found I couldn't look him in the eye. He lifted my chin gently, trying to make eye contact with me.

"Nina?" he whispered, smiling at me.

Somehow I couldn't help but smile back.

* * *

"Nina!" I heard Trudy call from downstairs, "Dearie, your cab is here!"

I groaned. I didn't _want_ to leave just yet. Fabian stood up before me, holding out his hand to help me up. I took it, standing and starting over to the door.

"Hey," he whispered, pulling me back gently, "One last goodbye?"

I giggled before softly touching my lips to his for a moment. Then, he followed me down the stairs, insisting on carrying my bags for me.

Everyone's bags cluttered the foyer; suitcases leaned against the stairwell, the wall, and against the legs of everyone standing there waiting.

"Nina!" Amber cried, rushing to me. She almost tripped about four times, mostly over her own pink luggage. She hugged me so tight I could barely breathe.

"Amber," I managed to choke out, "It's only for a couple months. You'll be fine."

"But I'll miss you so much, Nines!"

I thought I was turning blue by the time Alfie pried Amber's arms from my waist. I saw mascara running down her cheeks, along with tears, and I gave her a proper hug.

"I'll miss you too, Amber," I whispered, feeling a tear escape my eye as well.

"Nina," I heard Trudy's voice behind me, "Why don't we take your things out to the cab?"

I nodded, composing myself. Everyone followed us outside; Fabian and Mick carried all my stuff, Amber stayed attached to my hip, and everyone else just wanted to say goodbye.

Once they placed all of my things in the cab, I opened the door in preparation to get in. As soon as I reached for the handle, it swung open before me.

"Gran!" I exclaimed as soon as I saw her familiar face. She smiled at me, and got out of the cab to give me a hug. My Gran looked very young, despite being fifty-seven years old; she looked more like she was in her forties. Gran still had light blonde hair, with barely white roots; it blended very naturally. She had the same color eyes as me, and we were relatively the same height. Her eyes always smiled when she did, and her cheeks and lips kept a youthful blush of color. The only things that made her look a day older than thirty were her wrinkles.

"Oh, Nina!" she said, hugging me tightly, "I've missed you!"

"Gran, I missed you so much!"

When we broke apart from the hug, I turned to my housemates with a huge smile on my face.

"Everyone," I began, "This is my Gran. Gran, this is Amber, Alfie, Jerome, Mara, Mick,

Patricia, Joy, and Fabian."

"Ahh," Gran replied, turning toward Fabian, "So _this_ is Fabian! I have heard so much about you!"

I flushed bright red, and exclaimed, "Gran!" But that didn't suppress the giggles that

broke out from all my friends.

"Hi," Fabian replied bashfully, "It's good to meet you."

"He's just as handsome as you said he was," Gran said to me, not-so-discreetly.

"Aww, Nines!" Amber cooed as my cheeks grew redder and redder.

* * *

Gran insisted on staying for a while, in order to get to know my housemates/friends. She kept saying things about how I said this about Fabian, or told her something else about him. I don't think he or I ever stopped blushing.

"Nina, our flight leaves in about two hours," Gran said as the sun began to set, "We

should get going."

"Oh," I replied simply, my gaze falling to the floor, "Okay."

"Aww, Nina!" Amber came over and hugged me, and she sounded like she was going to

cry again.

"Amber, haven't you done enough crying today?" I joked, tears threatening to fall from my eyes as well. We both giggled weakly.

"I'm going to miss you, BAF," Amber whispered, hugging me tighter before letting go. She flashed me a weak smile, and attempted to wipe her tears.

Patricia came over to hug me next.

"I don't know how I ever disliked you," she told me.

"Patricia, are you crying?" I asked her quietly. She pulled away to give me a strange look.

"What would make you think I was crying?" Patricia sniffed in reply, quickly wiping her eyes dry. I just smiled at her.

"Well, American," Jerome said as he approached me, "You turned out alright after all." I smiled, and hugged him. He seemed surprised to suddenly find my arms around him, but hugged me back awkwardly.

"Nina," my Gran's voice echoed behind me. I turned to see her already by the door, "We really should be going."

I sighed, turning to everyone else. We all suddenly mashed together in one big group hug.

"I'm gonna miss you guys," I said, trying to wrap my arms around everyone.

"Let me walk you out," Fabian said, placing his hand on the small of my back after we broke out of the group hug. I turned to wave one more time before walking out the door.

"Nina," Fabian whispered, his arm around my waist, "Are you okay?"

I shook my head in reply as tears began to cascade down my cheeks. He pulled me closer, and stroked my hair.

"Shh," he comforted, "It's okay, love."

"Fabian," I whispered, my voice hoarse, "I'm going to miss you so much." I turned my head to look up into his eyes.

"I know," he replied, almost inaudibly, before pressing his lips to mine. When we broke apart, he opened the cab door for me, and helped me inside. We kissed once more, and then Fabian closed door. The cab pulled away from Anubis House, and I waved to Fabian until we turned the corner, and he was gone.

* * *

******A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while! This is probably the longest chapter so far, and I've decided to completely change the direction of the story (but I won't say anything!) All I can say is, I hope the new plot sets this story apart from all the others! Enjoy! I don't own House of Anubis (sadly.) Also, t****here's a link on my profile to the new Fabina Fans forum! Go check it out :)**


	5. homecoming  part 1

**beautiful**

_chapter 5: homecoming part 1_

* * *

I vaguely remember the long flight home; I slept most of the way. However, when we arrived back in Baltimore, I seemed to have a lot of unexplained energy. I whipped out my cell phone as soon as I stepped off the plane, dialing Fabian's number.

"Nina?" I heard his groggy voice on the end of the line, "What's up?"

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" I asked nervously. There was a huge time difference between Baltimore and the UK, and it could be really early in the morning over there.

"Um, no," he replied, clearing his throat, "It's only…2:35 am."

"I'm sorry," I apologized again, looking at my watch. It was 9:35 pm here. The time difference must be bigger than I thought.

"Don't apologize," he answered, "I was waiting to hear your voice."

I smiled, and yawned loudly.

"I suppose I'm not the only one who's tired," Fabian laughed quietly.

"That's so weird, though," I commented, "I felt wide awake when we got off the plane." By now, Gran and I had retrieved our luggage and were looking for our car.

"Well, when you get home, please get some rest," Fabian said, and even without seeing him, I could hear the concern in his voice.

"I will," I promised, smiling.

"Fabian," I heard a new voice on the other line, "What are you still doing awake?"

"Sorry, Mum," Fabian said in reply to the voice, "Hey, Nines, I gotta go. Call me in the morning, okay?"

"Okay."

"Bye, Nina. I love you."

"Bye, Fabes…I love you, too." I smiled with satisfaction as I bid Fabian goodbye and hung up the phone.

"So, how long have you two been together?" Gran asked me suddenly, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Well," I began, "We've been good friends for the whole term, and he asked me to the end of term prom…"

"It sounds like there's more to the prom story," Gran smirked, silently asking me to continue.

"Amber named us prom king and queen," I smiled, recalling the story, "She made us dance together and we sort of…kissed."

"That wasn't that long ago. You're already telling him you love him?"

"He said it first, two days ago."

"You're not just saying it because he's saying it? And are you sure you two love each other? He might have _ulterior motives_…"

"Gran!" I exclaimed, "Fabian is not like that! And I know I love him, at least."

"But you're sure he loves you?"

"Fabian never says anything he doesn't mean."

"How do you know you love him?"

"I think the moment I fell in love with Fabian," I answered with no hesitation, "Was after Sarah died. He told me he would never give up on me. That's when I knew."

"As long as you're sure," Gran replied, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder, "I don't want you to get hurt."

Another smile spread across my face, and I drifted off to sleep. It wasn't long before we arrived home, though; I barely remember getting out of the car and walking all the way up the stairs into my bedroom, but I do remember the familiar scent of my pillows as I flopped down onto them and fell fast asleep once more.

* * *

I woke up to feel the sun beating down on my back through the window. I must've thrown on a too-small pajama shirt last night before falling asleep. I looked at my clock and saw it was nine in the morning; I slept for almost eleven hours. However, I still felt tired. I wrote it off as grogginess and sat up, stretching. I reached instinctively for my cell phone, and saw I had a missed call from Fabian. I decided to call him back.

"Hello?" I heard his voice. I smiled.

"Hi, Fabes."

"Nina. I see you're finally awake."

"Fabian, it's only nine am."

"Oh, right. It's a few hours past noon here."

"Don't worry about it; it takes some getting used to."

"So how're things back in America?"

"I'm not sure, I've been back long enough to sleep in my own bed again," we both laughed after I said this. Then, I heard a knock on my bedroom door.

"Come in," I angled the phone away from my mouth so I wouldn't shout directly in Fabian's ear. Gran came in quietly, and sat next to me.

"Who's there?" Fabian asked me.

"Gran just came in to say good morning," I replied, turning to Gran. I mouthed Fabian's name so she would know who I was talking to, but she had probably already guessed.

I heard Fabian talking, but couldn't make out what he said, because Gran asked me, "Nina, what are these bruises on your waist?"

I lifted my shirt and looked down at them. Sure enough, purplish spots were beginning to materialize around my midsection.

"Probably from Amber holding onto me so tight yesterday," I said as I examined the spots. They seemed to be right about where Amber had me in her death grip.

"What's going on?" I heard Fabian's voice say through the receiver.

"Amber hugged me so tightly she left bruises on my sides," I replied, chuckling a little. I had wondered when the day would come that she'd injure someone by hugging them.

"I didn't think Amber was strong enough to do something like that," Fabian's voice was full of concern, "But, she's always full of surprises."

I lifted a finger to poke the bruise, but Gran swatted my hand away, shaking her head 'no'.

"Oh, it's time for dinner," Fabian said, and I replied, confused, "Dinner? Isn't it like, the middle of the afternoon there?"

"Sorry, _lunch_," Fabian corrected in 'American' terms.

"Oh, okay," I giggled.

"Talk to you later, Nina. I love you."

"Bye, Fabian…love you, too."

I clicked my phone shut, turning to Gran.

"Some of your friends are here to see you," she said, smiling, "But you might wanna change first." I looked down to see that I was wearing a shrunken tanktop from the sixth grade, and a pair of ratty sweatpants.

"Nina!" I heard a familiar voice call from downstairs, and I squealed (Amber would have been proud) before calling back, "I'm coming‼"

I jumped up, and dug through my luggage, searching for clothes to wear. When I found a light sundress, I shooed Gran out so I could throw on a bathing suit and the dress. I ran a brush through my hair and bounded down the stairs.

"Nina‼" I threw my arms around the red-headed girl that called my name.

"Courtney!" I exclaimed, hugging her tightly. Courtney was my best friend, before I left for England. I just knew she'd be dying to know everything; she had always shared with me her dream of visiting Europe.

"Nina, I've missed you!" Courtney's face was buried in my shoulder, her voice muffled.

"I miss you, too, Coco," I replied, my head resting on her shoulder blade. I couldn't help but smell her coconut perfume; it was her favourite.

"Sooo…" she began, pulling away to look at me, "Gimme the deets!"

"What deets?" I laughed, looking to Gran for some sort of help. However, Gran just smirked at me.

"You didn't," I shot her a glare, and then turned back to Courtney. She just raised her eyebrows, and said, "Tell me all about _Fabian_."

* * *

**A/N: I really didn't want to have the updates be too close to each other this week, but I've been itching to put this up. This chapter is really long, so I split it into two parts. Don't forget to check out the Fabina Fans forum! (Link is on my profile). I don't own HoA.**

**P.S. - I've noticed in most fanfics, Nina lives either in California or somewhere in the Southwest. I decided to put her in Baltimore :D**


	6. homecoming part 2

**beautiful**

_chapter 6: homecoming part 2_

* * *

"Tell me all about _Fabian_."

I felt my face flush, and Courtney gave me a knowing look. Her iridescent periwinkle eyes glistened, and her freckles seemed to twitch as she squinted at me.

"He's definitely more than a friend," Courtney concluded, "You're blushing."

"Blushing?" I had certainly done enough of that lately, and tried to steer Courtney in a different direction, "Why would I be blushing?"

"Are you dating him?" she blurted, and I attempted to splutter an answer, but Courtney's piercing gaze never faltered, so I gave in.

"Yes," I squeaked, then cleared my throat to try again. "Yeah, we're kinda dating."

"Oh my gosh‼" Courtney sounded _just_ like Amber as she grabbed my hands, jumping up and down, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!"

"Calm down, Coco!" I said, pulling her back to the ground, "You haven't heard the _whole_ story."

"Uh-oh," she muttered, grabbing my wrist and swiftly pulling me to the sofa, demanding, "Tell me."

"Well, okay…" I began, and then recounted everything – minus the whole "Chosen One" mess. When mentioning our late night meetings in the attic, I used the excuse that we wanted to explore the history of the house. I might have to tell her eventually, but for now, I focused on the romantic aspects.

"…And there's this girl, Joy," I continued, "It seems like she and Fabian had a thing, and I'm afraid that while I'm here she'll try to rope him back into her grasp, or something. We aren't _officially_ together or anything, just…_romantically involved_."

"You make it sound so complicated," Courtney remarked, and I just looked at her.

"It kind of is," I replied, laughing a little. She just patted my shoulder.

"Well, whatever, I'm taking you to the beach. Let's go!"

"Okay," I agreed distractedly, making sure I had my phone and other necessities.

"Be back later!" I yelled to Gran as Courtney dragged me out the door.

* * *

"Everybody's so excited to see you," Courtney said as we walked together down the street. Gran's house was a couple blocks away from the beach, and even though Baltimore isn't exactly known for its beaches, this one was nice. My friends and I hung out here all the time.

"I bet they are," I replied, laughing, "I'm excited, too. I wish you could meet my friends from England, though."

"Tell me about them," she asked, "I only got to hear about _Fabian_ so far." I giggled at the inflection she used whenever she said Fabian's name.

"Well, my roommate's name was Amber," I began, "We became really close throughout the school year. She actually reminds me a little bit of you."

"There had to be more than two people at this school."

"Okay, I had other friends in Anubis House," I continued, "Mara and Patricia are the other girls…and Joy, too, but she was ki—I mean, gone, for most of the year. The other guys are Alfie, Jerome, and Mick."

"What were they all like?"

"I can't tell you much about Joy, besides what I did earlier; I don't really know her that well. Mara's super smart, but we aren't that close, either. Patricia _hated_ me in the beginning, but we're cool now. We hung out a lot more often as the year progressed, and she's awesome. Alfie has this weird thing with aliens, but he's funny. Jerome is downright _devious_, and he and Alfie pulled pranks and started food fights _all the time_! Mick is this big sports guy, and he was actually in California a while back competing for a scholarship. I don't know Mick all that well, either, but he seems cool."

"It sounds like fun," Courtney sighed, "I wish I could go to that school."

"Aww, don't be sad," I replied, trying to cheer her up, "Maybe next school year you can come visit. I'd love to have someone around that knows all my American-isms."

Courtney laughed, and by this time, we had reached the shore. I heard someone calling my name, and turned to see a sandy-haired, lanky boy waving to me. I smiled and waved back, walking his way.

"Nina!" he shouted, "You're back!"

"Yeah!" I shouted back, walking faster. Once Courtney and I got to him, I gave him a big hug.

"Hi, Evan," I said, gripping him tightly. Evan and I have been friends for pretty much our whole lives; he's like my brother.

"Why, hello, stranger," Evan joked, pulling away. I looked up into his big brown eyes and laughed.

"You got really tall," I observed.

"It happens," he shrugged, taking me by the hand, "C'mon, we were just about to go swimming."

Courtney and I followed him further down the shore, the sand squishing beneath our feet. It was hard to run, but I tried as hard as I could once I caught sight of my other friends. Veronica, a brunette whose demeanor reminds me slightly of Patricia, met me halfway to give me a hug. Jake and Julie, strawberry-blonde twins who could never seem to stop bickering, practically tackled me when they caught sight of me.

We all talked for a few minutes, catching up, when my phone rang.

"Sorry," I said, digging it out of my beach bag. When I saw Fabian's name, I blushed.

"Oh, answer it!" Courtney teased, "I'm sure _Fabian_ is dying to talk to you!"

"Fabian?" I faintly heard Evan ask as I walked a few paces from the group to answer my cell phone.

"Hi, Fabes," I said, smiling.

"Hey. What's up?"

"I just met up with some of my friends at the beach," I explained, "We're going to go swimming."

"Nice," Fabian replied, "I don't want to interrupt…call me when you get home?"

"Sure," I answered, "Talk to you later."

"Love you, Nines."

"Love you too. Bye," I sighed happily as I hung up the phone, returning to my friends. I feel like this is going to be a good summer.

* * *

**A/N: Phew! It's been a while. Yes, I'm still here...and alive! My last final exam of sophomore year was yesterday, so now I have two months (give or take a few days) of unrestricted writing and Simming time! Hopefully I can write as much of this story as possible this summer, but write ahead; that way I don't update every couple hours and then not update for another month. Maybe I can figure out a schedule. I don't know, but anyway, I put up a oneshot last night which got a surprising amount of reviews within, like, a few hours, so yaay! Mkay, well, I don't own _House of Anubis_, so yeah. kthxbai.**


	7. catching up

**beautiful**

_chapter 7: catching up_

* * *

After dusk fell, we all gathered around a bonfire Jake had set up earlier. I took a minute to analyze my friends. Evan's face looked a little stressed, but I marked that up to school. The year had been hard on all of us. Courtney had a certain glow about her, and I couldn't quite place it; however, it wasn't a bad thing that she seemed happy. Jake and Veronica were getting a little cozy, and I observed Julie trying to cozy up to Evan, who wasn't exactly reciprocating.

"So Nina," Julie began, giving up on Evan for now, "What's England like?"

"It's beautiful," I replied immediately, "I didn't get to see much of the country, but the school was in the countryside, so it was really scenic. I miss it already…"

"That's not the only thing you miss," Courtney teased, and I blushed.

"Ooh! Tell us about your boyfriend!" Julie gushed, and Veronica nodded in agreement. At the word boyfriend, I thought I saw Evan wince a little. Then again, it's hard to tell by firelight.

"Um, okay," I bashfully complied, and began, "His name's Fabian—"

"_Fabian_," Courtney teased once more, and I laughed as I said, "Would you stop?" She just laughed in response, and I continued.

"Fabian is…" I had difficultly trying to find a place to start, "Well, he was kind of my first friend. My roommate Patricia didn't like me very much, and she actually ended up switching rooms to get away from me. Anyway, the first time Gran called me, I was crying, and Fabian came to see if I was okay. He's so sweet. We were just kinda friends from there."

"Okay, but how does that make him your boyfriend?" Veronica asked.

"I'm getting there," I replied, "We had an End of Term Prom, and he asked me to be his date. I said yes, of course, and…"

"And…?" Julie and Veronica repeated excitedly, while Courtney just sat back because she had already heard the story.

"My friend Amber," I smiled saying her name, and shook my head at her…Amber-ness, "She named Fabian and I Prom King and Queen. She made us dance on stage, and…well, I kissed him."

A chorus of "Aww" and "Oh my gosh!" echoed from the girls, while Jake laughed and Evan grimaced. Why did he do that?

"What are your other friends like?" Evan asked, and he seemed genuinely interested. Before I could answer, however, my cell phone rang.

"Hello?" I said, realizing I forgot to check the name before I answered.

"Hi, Nina‼" Amber's voice rang from the other end.

"Hey, Amber! Um, isn't it, like, really early over there?"

"It's only like, 3 am, but I couldn't sleep and I realized that I haven't talked to you since you left and I wanna know how things are going in America and how you and Fabian are doing and—"

"Amber, slow down," I laughed, trying to break her out of her ramble, "Right now I'm at the beach with my friends. We were actually just talking about all of you guys."

"Oh, really? That's cool! So what are your American friends like?"

"Amber, maybe you should go to bed? I can call you tomorrow and tell you _all_ about them."

"Okay…" She trailed off, yawning, "Goodnight, Nina! I'll talk to you tomorrow! Well, today, technically. But tomorrow for you."

"Bye, Amber," I laughed once more before hanging up the phone.

"That was Amber," I explained to my friends, "She was my roommate for most of the semester, and she's great, but a little hyperactive at times."

After describing everyone else from Anubis House to my friends gathered around the fire, I stifled a yawn of my own.

"Getting tired?" Evan smirked, and I nodded in agreement.

"I can walk you home," he offered, and I accepted.

* * *

I looped my arm in Evan's as we strolled down the empty street. The street lights cast a yellow glow over the sidewalk, but the bright moon lit most of our way.

"So how serious is this thing with you and…Fabian?" Evan asked, avoiding my gaze.

"We're gonna see where it takes us," I responded, "Why?"

"Just curious," Evan replied half-heartedly.

"Are you jealous?" I teased, and when he heard me laugh, he chuckled along.

"I'm just looking out for you," Evan answered sincerely, and I rested my head on his arm. I was really tired.

"You okay?" he asked quietly, noticing my pace had slowed.

"Just really tired," I reassured him, "Probably still jetlagged."

He just nodded absentmindedly, his thoughts seeming to travel elsewhere. I just gazed ahead of me at the moon, my feet moving almost automatically.

"Nina?" Evan's voice snapped me out of my daze.

"Yeah?" I replied, sounding clueless.

"We're here," he smirked, pointing to the door of Gran's house.

"Oh," I replied, laughing at my own clumsiness, "Night, Ev."

"Goodnight," Evan bid me farewell as he watched me walk up the steps and into the house. Once I got inside, I looked out the window and waved to him. He waved back halfheartedly, and walked away with his hands in his pockets. I was worried about him, but realized there was nothing I could do at this point. Maybe we'd deal with it tomorrow. But right now, I was thinking about the warm, welcoming bed waiting for me upstairs.

* * *

**A/N: I love this chapter. I feel it's a little short (it probably isn't), but I love it. Get used to Nina's American friends, because you'll be seeing them for a while now. I'm going to try and introduce them more in-depth, one by one, if I can. I honestly pulled the names out of thin air, but I hope I mold them into something interesting. Don't worry; we'll hear from the Anubis kids, as well. All in good time. Hope you enjoyed this chapter; I've been itching to write it and hope it delivers. I plan to update every ten days (after this update), as I've been writing ahead and storing every chapter in my Doc Manager. Is three new chapters a month enough? Let me know! I don't own _House of Anubis_, but I do own the soon-to-be lovable American OC's. kthxbai :)  
**


	8. surprise

**beautiful**

_chapter 8: surprise_

* * *

At around four o'clock the next morning, my phone rang. I blinked groggily and reached for it, yawning a tired "Hello?" into the receiver.

"Nina!" Amber greeted cheerily from the other end, "Good morning!"

"Uh, morning," I replied, lifting myself up on my elbow.

"You sound tired," she remarked, and I looked at my clock.

"It's four in the morning," I sighed, knowing that if I was awake now, there's no way I'd be getting back to sleep.

"Oh, I forgot about the time change again," she giggled slightly, then apologized sincerely, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I comforted, "We can talk; I promise I won't fall back asleep."

"Okay! Well I just wanted to fill you in on what's been happening since you left. _Apparently_ Mara and Mick broke up yesterday; poor Mara called me crying, she was so upset. I hope she gets over it soon. I was talking to Alfie yesterday, too, and he told me that Jerome fancies Mara. I think that's _so_ sweet. Maybe they'll get together next term‼ Anyway, Joy told me that Fabian can't stop talking about how much he misses you. How _adorable_ is that?"

I took in a sharp breath when Amber mentioned that Joy had been talking to Fabian, but I don't think she noticed.

"Patricia is going to this concert next weekend that's like this really heavy metal band…I can't remember what they're called, but it sounded scary. How're things in America?"

I almost didn't realize that Amber had switched subjects, but picked up on it quickly.

"Things are going pretty well," I replied, no longer tired. I was sitting up in bed, flipping absentmindedly through an old magazine, "It's been great catching up with my old friends again."

"What are they like?" Amber asked dreamily, and I chuckled inwardly as to how often I've been asked that question over the past couple days.

"First, there's Courtney," I started, "I call her Coco, and you'd _love_ her. She reminds me a little of you. We've been best friends since I can remember, and are still as close as ever. Then, there's Evan. He's like my brother, and he grew up with me and Coco from the start. We're all really close. Jake and Julie are twins, and even though they're identical, their personalities are like two different worlds; they _never_ stop bickering. Finally, there's Victoria, who would remind you of Patricia just by looking at her. However, her personality is like a mix of me, Coco, and of course, some defining qualities that make her unique. We're all really close and went to grade school together; my leaving this past semester was hard, but I think we're gonna be okay."

"It sounds like you've had a lot of fun already," Amber remarked, and I heard a tinge of sadness in her voice, "Are you happy to be back home?"

"Of course I am," I replied without hesitation, "I'm _home_. But I still miss you guys like crazy, and Anubis House is my second home. I feel at home whether I'm in Baltimore or in England."

"I've always wanted to see Baltimore," Amber sighed, "Daddy's taken me to New York and L.A., but I've heard Baltimore is a really nice city."

"You can come visit any time you like," I said with an air of hopefulness, "I'd love for you to come see my side of the ocean!"

"I miss you, BAF," Amber said suddenly, and I felt tears well up in my eyes.

"Amber, you'll make me cry," I retorted, trying to blink back the moisture, "But I miss you, too. A lot."

* * *

As predicted, I didn't sleep after Amber called me. Our conversation ended about two hours later, and I decided not long after that to roll out of bed and get something to eat. My stomach was practically yelling at me by the time I stepped into the kitchen, and I searched attentively for something to satisfy my raging hunger. I settled quickly for toast and almost swallowed it whole once it popped up from the toaster. Gran walked in and laughed as I was stuffing my breakfast in my mouth.

"Hungry?" she asked, and I nodded desperately, moving to my second piece of toast. I realized quickly that I was thirsty, too, and searched in the refrigerator for something to drink.

"Yum, grape juice," I said to myself, grabbing the carton eagerly. Grape juice was my favorite breakfast beverage of choice, aside from hot chocolate in the winter.

After pouring myself a glass of grape juice and chatting with Gran, I went upstairs to change. I didn't expect to go anywhere today, so I just threw on cotton shorts and an old t-shirt. When I got downstairs, however, my friends were waiting excitedly, saying they wanted to take me to roller skating. I dashed back upstairs, changed into something more presentable, and met them downstairs.

"We have a surprise for you!" Courtney gushed, and my eyes widened considerably. I _hate_ surprises.

"Oh, no," I said, looking to my other friends for help. When my eyes met Evan's, he just shrugged.

"It can't be _that_ bad," he attempted to comfort me, and this clued me in that he didn't know what the surprise was, either. They just dragged me out the door, and I silently prayed that the "surprise" wasn't going to end in disaster.

* * *

As we were driving, I noticed that Courtney passed the roller skating rink. When I opened my mouth to say something, she interrupted.

"I may have lied," she smirked, "We're not going roller skating."

"Then, where are we going?" I asked, still afraid of what could possibly be up her sleeve.

"I really wanna tell you _so_ badly," Courtney pouted as she said this, "But I can't. You'll see!"

Eventually, we pulled into the parking lot of my favorite restaurant. _This isn't such a bad surprise after all_, I thought, _A nice brunch with my friends. How terrible is that?_

I spoke too soon.

We walked in the doors, and my ears were bombarded with shouts of "Surprise!" and "Welcome home, Nina!"

They threw me a surprise party…with everyone I've ever come in contact with in America packed into this one little tiny diner.

"Aww," I feigned gratefulness and a smile, "You guys didn't have to do all this! _You really didn't have to_."

I practically spat the last sentence at Courtney, who gave me a sheepish grin and a big hug.

"Oh, come on," she tried to cheer me up, "This will be fun! Music, food, friends, what else do you need?"

I sighed, knowing she wouldn't give up until I was enjoying the party. I decided to play pretend.

"You're right," I said with an almost-genuine smile, "I suppose I'll have fun. Thanks!"

She flashed a mile-wide grin at me before leading me through the crowd of people beginning to mingle and make small talk, while I remained the center of attention.

* * *

**A/N: Happy 4th, my fellow Americans! Here's a present for you ;) I hope you liked this chapter. I'm having a lot of fun writing in Nina's point of view, so I hope you all like seeing life through her eyes. Also, I just wanted to point out, why have I been getting hundreds of hits for this story, but barely any reviews in comparison? I usually hate when authors rant about not getting reviews, but now I understand. Seriously, even if you review in another language (which would be amazing; ¡Hablo español, támbien!) I would love it. Even if you just say "update", that'd be awesome. The sentiment is always appreciated. Unfortunately, I have disabled anonymous reviews mainly because I attract too many trolls/flamers on some of my other fics, and hate dealing with it. I suppose I'm done babbling now. Oh, also, I've thrown out my ten-day rule and I'm going to update every Monday instead—****otherwise I'll get too ahead of myself. I don't own _House of Anubis_. kthxbai.**


	9. amazing news

**beautiful**

_chapter 9: amazing news_

* * *

The party wasn't too terrible, I suppose. I saw a lot of casual friends from my old school; we weren't as close as my tight-knit group was, but we could still carry on a conversation. I saw my ex-boyfriend, which was slightly awkward…what made it even more awkward was the fact that he somehow knew I have another boyfriend. I found out later that between Courtney, Veronica, and Julie, everyone knew.

We ended up staying at the diner well after the party was over, mainly to help clean up, but also because there was a ton of good food left, and we just couldn't let that go to waste!

All in all, it was a good day, and I was thoroughly exhausted by the time I got home. I plugged my cell phone in to charge, changed into an oversized t-shirt, and flopped into bed. Sleep washed over me as soon as my head hit the pillow.

* * *

I woke up the next morning with a mild headache and three missed calls on my cell phone. Two were from Amber, one was from Fabian, and I had a voice mail. I checked the voice mail, which was from Amber, who initially was worried that I didn't answer my phone, but in the middle of her ramble realized I'd probably still be asleep and to just text her when I woke up. I decided to shoot both her and Fabian a quick text before rolling out of bed and heading to the kitchen.

**new message  
****to: fabian  
****hey, i'm awake. sorry we didn't get to talk yesterday—long story. what's up? ;)  
****sent: 10:43 am**

**new message  
****to: amber  
****hey amber! i'm awake now!  
****sent: 10:44 am**

I changed into some jean shorts and a loose top, shoved my cell phone in my back pocket, and started my quest for breakfast. My stomach was growling relentlessly by the time I walked in the kitchen, and Gran was already sitting at the table, drinking her tea.

"Someone's hungry," she commented, and I laughed before grabbing some yogurt from the fridge. I sat down with her, and we chatted for a bit.

"How was your party yesterday?" Gran asked, and I grimaced.

"It was okay," I replied, "But I still hate surprises." At this point, my phone went off, and I pulled it out to check. Sure enough, Amber replied to me, and I opened up the message to read what she said:

**new message  
****from: amber  
****NINAA! I have the most amazing news for you EVER!  
****received: 10:52 am**

I laughed, not even able to imagine what "amazing news" Amber would have to tell me. I typed a reply asking "what would that be?" and sent it just before Fabian's reply came in.

**new message  
****from: fabian  
****good morning, bedbug. did you sleep well?  
****received: 10:54 am**

I smiled at Fabian's thoughtfulness. I typed him a long message in reply, assuring him that I got a good night's sleep, and explained to him the whole "surprise party" ordeal. Just as I sent this message, another from Amber came in.

"My," Gran chuckled, "I guess you're popular today."

"I didn't get to talk to Fabian yesterday," I explained, "And even though I was on the phone with Amber at four A.M. yesterday, she suddenly has this 'amazing news' to tell me."

I opened Amber's message, and saw a picture of her standing in what looked like an airport, holding up a piece of paper.

**new picture message  
****from: amber  
****subject: SURPRISE!  
****guess what? i'm coming to visit you in america! daddy just bought me my ticket, and i fly there on friday!  
****received: 10:59 am**

"No way!" I exclaimed, looking to Gran excitedly. She matched my expression, saying, "What?"

I narrowed my eyes at her, and could tell she was mocking me. We just laughed again before I told her the news.

"Oh, that's great!" Gran enthused, "Tell her she can stay with us, if she'd like." I typed the message to Amber at lightning speed, and she responded in no time with a huge 'thank you' and a lot of exclamation points to prove her excitement.

Today is Monday, but I already can't wait for Friday.

* * *

The next few days passed quite uneventfully, but I felt the dull pain in the back of my head from the mild headache I felt coming on Monday morning. It worried me that it was already Wednesday and it hasn't subsided, but I didn't feel sick otherwise, so I chalked it up to 'that time of the month'.

Right now, Courtney was sitting with me in the living room. Our favorite movie was playing quietly in the background, but I was telling her about Amber's visit, and Amber herself.

"Be prepared," I warned her, "Amber talks _a lot_. And don't be surprised if most of that is about Fabian and I."

"I think I'm really gonna like this girl," Courtney smirked, and I agreed.

"I think you will, too."

* * *

Friday is finally here, and Amber's flight is coming in bright and early. I bounced eagerly up and down on the balls of my feet, while Courtney and Gran stood beside me.

"Easy there, tiger!" Courtney finally grabbed hold of my shoulders and made me stand still.

"I'm really excited," I stated the obvious, and Courtney flashed me a look that said 'no duh'. I scanned the Arrivals for the millionth time, seeing that the 7:53 flight from London was now on the ground. I turned to see where Amber would be walking out, and soon spotted the blonde, who had a pink carry on in tow.

When she got closer, I shouted her name, and she screamed, running toward me.

"Nina‼" Amber gushed when she got to me, strangling me in one of her famous Amber 'death hugs'.

"Hi, Amber!" I replied, hugging her back just as tightly. We pulled apart, and she squealed when she saw my face, hugging me again.

"Okay, Amber," I tried to pry her off of me, and once I succeeded, my excitement was mirrored in her shining eyes.

"Coco," I called Courtney over, and she stood beside me, "This is Amber. Amber, this is Courtney."

"Hi," Courtney greeted, "You can call me Coco if you want."

"Hi!" Amber replied cheerfully, "Nina's told me all about you."

"Likewise," Courtney laughed.

"Oh, Nina," Amber piped up, a bigger smile creeping across her face, "Fabian asked me to give his love to you when I saw you. How _adorable_ is that?"

"Aww," Courtney agreed, and they both relished in seeing my face turn bright red.

* * *

**A/N: Well, it's that day of the week again! :D At some points I feel like I'm rushing this along, but maybe it's just because I'm writing this so fast. Anyway, the next chapter is really, really important, so pay close attention to that one. It might be extra long because I'll have a lot of information to put into it. I want this story to have 20 chapters...the next chapter (chapter 10) will be that last chapter in Nina's point of view. After that, the last ten chapters will be in...drumroll please...Fabian's point of view! But you still don't know what I have up my sleeve, so you'll have to wait and see ;) Also, when I said I wouldn't mind if you reviewed in another language, that wasn't a challenge. But, I suppose the prize goes to **_xpskl_** for reviewing in Chinese. Keep those reviews coming (but preferably in English!). This chapter is dedicated to BlazingAngel818 (aka my IRL best friend Dawn) mainly because she's just amazing, and already knows the whole plot but is still excited to read the story! Love youuu :) I don't own _House of Anubis_. kthxbai.**


	10. symptoms

**beautiful**

_chapter 10: symptoms_

* * *

After we picked up Amber from the airport, Gran offered to take us out for dinner. We all agreed, and Amber was greatly amused by the idea of getting 'authentic American food'. I felt pretty hungry, but by the time we walked into the burger joint, I had lost my appetite. Actually, I felt a little sick to my stomach.

"Nina, honey, are you alright?" Gran asked me once we'd sat in the booth.

"I don't feel very well," I replied, sipping the water I'd ordered. Gran, Amber, and Courtney just gave me concerned looks before digging into their meals.

* * *

The next morning, the dull headache I'd had throughout the week instantly multiplied into a giant throbbing pain. To top it off, I still felt nauseous.

After running into the bathroom when my nausea got the best of me, I checked the clock. It read 2:47 A.M. I was exhausted, _still_, and eventually trudged my way back into bed. It didn't take long for me to fall back asleep.

* * *

I jolted up in bed quickly, cold sweat running down my face. However, I couldn't immediately remember having a nightmare, or any dream for that matter. I looked at my cell phone to check the time…5:23 A.M. I figured I might as well try and fall back asleep, since Amber was still in a deep slumber on the other side of my full size bed.

* * *

"Nina," I heard Amber calling my name, and first thought of the morning after prom. I remembered, however, that I was certainly _not_ in Anubis House.

I opened my eyes, looking straight up at my ceiling.

"Are you okay?" she asked me worriedly, "I heard you get up in the middle of the night, and you've been asleep for a really long time."

"Ams, I don't feel very well," I said with a sigh, "I'm sorry that I'm so sick on your first day here…"

"It's definitely not your fault that you're sick," she told me firmly, "But I'm going to get your Gran…you look flushed, and I'm worried you have a fever."

"Thanks, Amber," I thanked her with a tired voice, trying to find a comfy position in bed. I noticed that I was practically burning alive under all these blankets, and tossed them off of me. I felt that my pajama shirt had ridden up my sides overnight, but I didn't mind. It actually helped me feel cooler.

"Nina," I heard Gran call my name as she walked in, probably to make sure I was awake. I turned my head to look at her, and she came toward me to take my temperature. At first, she felt my forehead with her hand.

"Oh my word," she muttered under her breath, "You're burning up!" Gran then proceeded to stick the digital thermometer in my mouth, and we waited patiently for a beep.

"One hundred and two point six degrees," Gran announced, feeling my forehead once more. I then noticed a very concerned looking Amber gawking at my midsection.

"Amber, what's wrong?" I asked her, looking down at my stomach.

"Oh, my…" Gran trailed off as she noticed what Amber and I were looking at. Where there had been some little bruises just last week, there were now large, purple splotches that threatened to consume my natural skin tone.

"That's it," Gran determined, "I'm calling the doctor."

* * *

I always hated waiting rooms; they were unfriendly, and I always felt like everyone else was judging me. I slumped in the chair, wishing there were doctors that still made house calls so I could be in bed right now. A very nervous Amber was next to me, flipping through old issues of _People_ magazine. Gran looked anxious, as well, and kept glancing my way.

"Nina Martin?" I heard a plump nurse call my name, and I gave a weak smile before attempting to stand. Gran had to prop me up when I suddenly felt dizzy, and the nurse took my arm to lead me into the exam room.

* * *

My doctor, who was a kind Latina woman, asked me the usual questions, "What are your symptoms?", "How long have they been around?", and "What was your temperature last time you checked it?" (This last one was after I mentioned the fever).

At first, she seemed to think I had a stomach bug, but once I mentioned the bruises, she stiffened. Upon seeing them, she became absolutely rigid and stepped out of the room without a word. Luckily, she left the door partially open, and I saw her talking to another doctor. They both glanced toward the door a number of times. This worried me greatly.

Soon, my doctor came back in, telling me simply that "This isn't a simple stomach bug" and that she "needs to take blood immediately".

* * *

After they took my blood—much to my chagrin—my doctor informed me that she scheduled other tests for the next day, which included x-rays, MRI's, CT scans, and the like. I was very frightened at this point, and the worst part was, we had no answers.

Gran and I made our way back to the waiting room, where Amber was talking on her cell phone in a hushed voice.

"Yes, Fabian," she hissed, "Of course I've heard from her today, I just saw her…I'm visiting her in America, remember?"

I sat beside her, and heard Fabian's voice on the other end say, "I'm sorry; I'm just really worried, that's all."

"Can I talk to him?" I mouthed, and Amber nodded, handing me the phone. We began walking toward the car so we didn't make a scene.

"Hi, Fabes," I said in a weak voice.

"Nina, are you okay?" he asked me immediately, his voice flooded with concern.

"We don't know," I replied honestly, "We're just leaving the doctor's now, and she took blood and scheduled me for a bunch of tests…I'm scared."

"It'll be alright, love," Fabian feebly attempted to comfort me, "I'm sure you'll turn out fine."

"I hope you're right," I replied. Today was Saturday; my blood work would be in by tomorrow when I went to get my other tests done, so I prayed that by next week, things would be back to normal.

* * *

After sitting through hours of scans and tests, I sat in another exam room; this time, in a very mean looking hospital. The white-washed walls frightened me more than my current state of well-being, which became a completely irrelevant thought once the doctor walked in.

"We have your results," he sighed, flipping through my chart. What he said next practically brought me to my knees, and I suddenly wished that I was curled up in bed, sleeping and unaware of everything.

* * *

**A/N: Hello, everyone! I have a few things in general I'd like to say about the reviews: thank you so much for them, but PLEASE don't just say "update soon". I update every Monday, no more, no less. Also, don't predict what you think is wrong with Nina in the reviews...I've had a few of you do it already, and frankly, it's frustrating. I'd like it if you gave me feedback rather than saying "SHE'S GONNA DIE!". Anyways, thanks for reading! I don't own _House of Anubis_, or _People_ magazine. kthxbai. :)**


	11. diagnosis

**beautiful**

_chapter 11: diagnosis_

_beginning of Fabian's point of view_

* * *

I felt a little bit useless at this point. I was an ocean away from Nina, who I could tell was truly scared. This is the same girl who isn't shaken by much, especially not a doctor's appointment. This troubled me greatly, and I couldn't even be there to comfort her.

I was trying to sleep, but these thoughts kept bouncing back and forth across my skull, keeping me wide awake. I turned to look at my bedside clock, and I found that it was 1:02 A.M. I sighed, turning back to stare at my ceiling. The sudden violent vibration of my cell phone jolted me out of my lethargic state. I knew the only person who could be calling me at this hour would be Nina, and I said a little prayer that everything was okay before I answered.

"Nina, how'd it go today?" I asked immediately, still extremely worried about her.

"Not good," she sobbed back, "Not good at all." _Oh no,_ I thought to myself, and had to ask the question, "What's wrong?"

Her answer made me wish for a fleeting second that I hadn't picked up the phone in the first place.

"Leukemia," she said simply, and it seemed as though my whole world came crashing down. As soon as she said the word, she began sobbing wickedly, and I felt even more useless than before.

"Fabian George Rutter," I found my mum standing in my doorway, but tonight, I wasn't worried in the least as to what punishment I would get this time.

"How many times have I told you—" she continued, but I cut her off.

"Mum, Nina has cancer."

* * *

After getting the news, sleep was completely out of the question for me. I was still on the phone with Nina, and every time she sobbed, it killed me inside. I couldn't do anything except offer kind words, which probably weren't helping. I paced back and forth across my room, the phone glued to my ear. After I while, I heard the sobbing stop, and Amber's voice piped up on the other end.

"She's fallen asleep," Amber said in a hushed, but broken voice. She's been crying, too.

"You should get some rest, too, Fabian," she continued, "I'm right here with her, and I'll let you know if anything happens. I promise."

"Thanks, Amber," I sighed, ending the call. I tossed my cell phone onto my bed, and continued pacing. I pressed my hands to my eyes so hard that I was seeing spots.

"Fabian," my mum came back into my room, sitting on my bed, "Sit."

I sat next to her, sighing deeply.

"Fabian," she placed a hand on my shoulder, "There's nothing you can do right now."

"That's the problem," I replied with a firm voice, "I'm an ocean away; I feel useless."

"I'll get you over there as soon as possible," Mum said, and I blinked, not sure if I heard her correctly. We don't have much money in the first place, and the fact that she would just pack me up and send me off to America isn't exactly _normal_. However, nothing's been normal tonight.

"But for right now," Mum continued, "There's nothing you can do _tonight_. So just get some rest…we'll make arrangements in the morning."

I nodded in agreement, staring down at my hands. Mum patted my shoulder one more time, kissed the top of my head, and left.

I lay down, trying to absorb everything that had been happening, and eventually ended up falling asleep.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, I was able to enjoy the sunshine on my face for one fleeting second before remembering last night's events. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach, but I didn't know why. I just sighed before sitting up in my bed, and putting my head in my hands.

"Fabian?" I heard Mum call me, and I swung my legs over the side of the bed, stretching before getting up and walking down the hallway.

"Fabian, come here," she called again, and I found her at the kitchen table on her laptop. My little sister, Emma-Lee, was sitting on Mum's lap, holding her teddy bear.

"Hey, kid," I ruffled Emma-Lee's hair before sitting next to Mum.

"How soon do you want to go?" Mum asked me, scrolling through airline websites.

"As soon as possible," I replied solemnly. Emma-Lee piped up, asking me, "Why are you going to America?"

The look in her eyes was so innocent and curious; I almost didn't want to tell her the real reason.

"My girlfriend is sick," I told her, and she frowned.

"Will she get better?" she asked me, and for a second, I wasn't sure how to answer.

"I hope so," I smiled at Emma-Lee, and she smiled back.

"I hope so, too," she agreed, "Maybe if you kiss her, she'll get better. Mommy always kisses my boo-boos to make them better."

I lifted Emma-Lee from Mum's lap and hugged her tight.

"I'll miss you while I'm gone," I told her, and she hugged me back.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Fabey," she whispered, "But you need to go rescue the princess!" Emma-Lee clambered out of my lap and skipped off to her room, singing a nursery rhyme about a damsel in distress.

"I wish life was still that easy," I muttered, and Mum gave me a sympathetic look.

"Here's your ticket," she snatched a paper from the printer, "You're leaving tonight."

"Thank you so much," I hugged Mum tight, and a tear threatened to fall.

"Well, go on!" she encouraged after wiping a few of her own tears away, "Get packing! Let everyone know you're on your way!"

"Oh, right," I ran off to my room.

* * *

**A/N: Wow. I checked the stats for this story, and I got around 1400 hits for this story IN THE U.S. ALONE! Thank you so much! Anyway, I love Fabian's sister. I already love her to death and all I've given her character is a name and some words of wisdom. I'm thinking she's around 4-6 years old, and obviously loves her big brother :'). Anyway, like I've said before, this chapter was the beginning of Fabian's point of view, and the remaining nine chapters will be in his point of view as well. Some of you reviewers are really super smart, so you've already guessed what's wrong with Nina (even if you predicted in your review like I told you not to). I hope you enjoyed this chapter...I don't own _House of Anubis_. kthxbai.**


	12. anxiety

**beautiful**

_chapter 12: anxiety_

* * *

"Hey, Amber," I spoke into the receiver, "I don't have much time to talk, because my flight leaves in ten minutes, but—"

"Flight?" Amber screeched in reply, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to Baltimore, now please, let me talk," I answered quickly, "Can you pick me up at the airport when I get there? I should be landing around 3:50 P.M. your time."

"Uh, okay, hold on a sec," I heard Amber set down the phone and talk to someone before coming back to it, "Yeah, I can pick you up. But we're heading right back here to see Nina, kay?"

I had the urge to ask her exactly what else I would be showing up in America for, but held my tongue. I just said 'thanks' before hanging up, as the flight attendant was badgering me to shut off all my electronics.

I sat back in my seat, anxious, but relieved that I would at least be able to be with Nina. My exhaustion washed over me, and I soon found myself asleep for most of the flight.

* * *

It seemed like we had landed in no time, and I double checked to make sure I had everything before getting off the plane. I had never been to America before, and the airport seemed like just an extra stress that I didn't need right now. However, once I got through customs, I found Amber.

At first, I almost didn't recognize her. She was wearing no makeup…_none_. This was very surprising. She also ran up and gave me a huge hug, which I wasn't expecting.

"Hi, Amber," I greeted, hugging her back. I could tell she was upset, "Why no makeup? I thought that was your livelihood!"

She laughed weakly, replying, "Every time I put it on, I'd just cry it all off afterwards. It's no use wasting all my good makeup by washing it away with my tears."

I hugged her again before we went to retrieve my luggage, and she led me to a car with someone already sitting in the driver's seat.

"Fabian," Amber began, "This is Courtney, one of Nina's best friends."

"Hi, Fabian," the redhead shook my hand after stepping out of the car, "Nina's told me all about you…I was hoping we would meet under different circumstances." I nodded my head sympathetically, agreeing with her. Amber and I hopped in the car, and we were off.

"How is she?" I asked immediately. Amber sighed.

"She's doing pretty good," she began, "She cries…a lot. And she's scared."

"I think at this point," Courtney piped up, "We're all scared."

* * *

We finally arrived at what Amber told me was Nina's Gran's house. I saw two cars in the driveway, and Courtney explained that one belonged to Nina and her Gran, and the other belonged to some of Nina's other friends that came to see her today. I got out of the car, and Amber asked me if I was going to grab my luggage.

"I can get it later," I told her, "I just wanna see Nina right now."

We stepped inside the door, which led straight to a sitting area. There were four people around the same age as Amber and I spread around in different chairs, and Nina was lying on the sofa.

"Is she asleep?" Amber asked quietly, and Nina piped up.

"No, I'm awake, Amber," she sat up, "I just—Fabian?"

"Hey, love," I quickly kneeled at her side, and she threw her arms around my neck.

"Oh my gosh, you're here," she whispered, hugging me tightly. I held her close, stroking her hair.

She pulled away from me and kissed me, catching me off guard.

"Hi," she whispered, leaning her forehead against mine.

"Hi," I whispered back, and I couldn't help but smile.

* * *

After I was introduced to everyone, we all fell into conversation. I sat on the sofa with Nina, and she leaned against me. There were two living chairs adjacent to us, and in them sat Nina's friends Jake and Julie, who were twins. Then, on a loveseat across the room, Courtney and Amber sat with Nina's friend Veronica. Nina's friend Evan stood by a bookshelf, glaring at me every so often…I wondered what exactly he had against me after knowing me for barely half an hour.

"Hello, Fabian," Nina's Gran came in from the kitchen, handing Nina a cup of tea, "I see you're here safe and sound…I wondered just exactly how long it would be before I saw you."

"I wanted to be here as soon as possible," I replied, instinctively hugging Nina's shoulders with the arm I had around her. She scooted a little bit closer in response.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Nina's Gran inquired, and I told her I had a hotel room.

"Oh, nonsense," she said, "We have plenty of room here. You're welcome to stay as long as you like."

"Thank you," I replied with a smile, and Nina was happy that I would be here with her.

"So, Fabian," Courtney began, "What did you think of this past semester? Nina told us about it, but what's your take on it?"

I turned to Nina, and she gave me a look that said 'I didn't mention the mystery', so I silently obeyed.

"Well, I've been going to that school for a while now," I began, "So at first I didn't think it would be anything really special. I thought having a new student was…interesting, to say the least, but not everyone else in the house thought so…"

"Especially with Patricia dumping water on me that first day," Nina mentioned, "That wasn't very fun."

"But then I got to know Nina, and she didn't turn out to be so bad after all," I smirked looking down at her. She just raised her eyebrow, and Amber piped up.

"Oh come on," Amber said, "You two were head over heels for each other for the _whole term_. And it took you guys _forever_ to finally admit it."

I think Amber brings up those kinds of things to make Nina and I blush, and well….it worked.

"See, you're both blushing," Amber pointed out, "That means I'm right!"

Suddenly, my cell phone vibrated, and I dug it out of my pocket. Mick was calling me, and I made to get up, but Nina grabbed my arm.

"You can stay here to talk on the phone," she said, and I smiled before answering.

"Hey," I said, feeling a little awkward that everyone was now listening to my phone conversation.

"Hey, mate, what happened?" Mick asked, "We were supposed to hang out tonight."

"I'm sorry, I totally forgot," I apologized.

"No worries," he said, "I could just drop by your house now."

"Uh, I'm not at home," I said awkwardly.

"Well, where are you?"

"In Baltimore."

"When did you leave the country?" Mick exclaimed, and I'm sure it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Just today, actually," I answered calmly, "Look, I'm sorry I blew you off, but…something big came up."

"Is everything okay?" he asked, and I just said, "I'll explain later…look, we'll talk another time, yeah?"

"Yeah, sure, mate," I could tell Mick was worried now, but I didn't want to tell him just yet. In fact, I was kind of reluctant to tell _anyone_ from Anubis. I bid Mick goodbye before hanging up my phone and awkwardly returning to the conversation in the room.

* * *

**A/N: You guys, I'm so close to 100 reviews on this story! Please give me your feedback; this is my most popular fanfic by far :) I'm sure this is the longest chapter so far. I adore Fabian! Um, yeah, I hope you enjoyed :) Oh, and I just got a Fiction Press account; my name is the same there, too. Also, I'm working on a fanfic for "Avatar: The Last Airbender" (aka the reason for my existence)...look out for that, as well! So, yeah...I don't own _House of Anubis_. kthxbai.**


	13. i hate this

**beautiful**

_chapter 13: i hate this_

* * *

That night, after everyone had left, we tried to figure out sleeping arrangements.

"Can Fabian stay in my room?" Nina begged her Gran, but her Gran just shook her head.

"Where will Amber sleep, then?" she argued.

"Oh, Mrs. Martin, I'll be fine," Amber shrugged, "I can just sleep in the guest room down the hall; I don't mind."

"Amber, you don't have to do that," I spoke up feebly, "I don't want to uproot you or anything."

"Fabian, I want you with me," Nina stared at me, and I swallowed hard. Her Gran didn't seem to like the idea, but finally gave in to Nina since she wasn't backing down.

"Thank you," Nina sighed, closing her eyes. She suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"I feel dizzy," she said softly, holding her head. I immediately scooped her up and laid her down on the sofa.

"Thanks, Fabes," she whispered, wincing.

"Are you alright?" I made sure I spoke just as softly as she had, especially considering that she replied, "I have a really bad headache."

* * *

After a while, I ended up carrying Nina up to her bed. I left for ten minutes to retrieve my luggage from downstairs (as Courtney brought it in the house before she left) and change. I lay down gently beside Nina, who already looked like she was fast asleep. I gingerly kissed her forehead before staring straight up at the ceiling above me. Soon, a dreamless sleep consumed me.

* * *

At about 4:30 that morning, I felt Nina get up out of bed and rush out of the room. I sat up when I heard her vomit, and called her name softly.

"Bathroom," she replied weakly before vomiting again. I rushed to her side, holding back her hair as she emptied the contents of her stomach once more. She coughed a few times, and wiped her mouth before beginning to sob violently. I pulled her close to me in a tight hug, and leaned against the counter so I could cradle her in my lap. We just sat there, and she cried into my shoulder.

"I hate this," she sobbed, "I hate it so much…and it's only going to get worse after treatments start."

I rubbed her back and tried to soothe her, but I knew right now, all I could do was let her cry. I couldn't tell her it was going to be okay, because I didn't know if I would be right. The sobs racked her body wickedly, and she was shaking terribly in my arms. I almost wanted to start crying myself, but knew I had to stay strong for her.

"Fabian, I'm scared," Nina whispered, her voice broken, "I am so scared."

"I know, love," I replied, "We all are." I echoed Courtney's words, wondering where that magical healing kiss was that Emma-Lee was talking about just yesterday.

* * *

The week passed slowly. Nina's treatments wouldn't start until next Wednesday, but she was already in agony. I wished that I could do _something_, but there was nothing for me to do. We all wanted to help, but couldn't. It seemed every night, Nina would get sick and just cry into my shoulder while I held her and wondered what she could have done to deserve this.

One night she suddenly stopped crying, and lifted her head off my shoulder.

"Nina?" I said softly, caressing her jaw. She kissed me, and I kissed her back with everything I had.

"I love you," she told me breathlessly after pulling away, "I love you so much and I'll never say it enough."

I held her tight and whispered "I love you, too" until her breathing evened out and I carried her back to her bed.

Nina slept hours longer than she should have that day. I sat beside her, just waiting for her to wake up…after a while, I sat there _hoping_ she would wake up. Amber came in, and asked me if I was okay.

"I…" I began, not sure how to finish, "I don't…I don't know."

She sat down next to me, looking at Nina.

"If she doesn't make it, none of us will," Amber whispered, and I snapped my head up to look at her.

"Sorry…" Amber looked down at her lap, a tear falling. I put my hand on her shoulder.

"I don't think I could live without her," I confessed, "I can't even imagine it…"

A few tears escaped my eyes, too. Nina stirred, and I got up from my side of the bed, kneeling next to her.

"Hi, Fabes," she whispered, blinking a few times. I stroked her cheek gently.

"Good morning," I said softly, and she smiled at me. She brought up her hand to lace her fingers with mine; I kissed the back of her hand.

"Are you hungry?" I asked her, and she shook her head.

"You need to eat," I prodded gently. Nina's stomach growled, and she winced.

"What time is it?" she asked me.

"It's one o'clock," Amber replied, "You've been sleeping for twelve hours."

"I've just been so tired lately…" Nina trailed off, "I hate this." She started to cry again, and Amber and I comforted her the best we could.

* * *

**A/N: "What up world? It's...MONDAY! Another day, another challenge!" If you know who says that, tell me in your review! This chapter is heartbreaking...I actually hit a little block while writing because I can't imagine this. I'm glad I switched out of Nina's point of view, because I'm not sure if I could accurately capture her pain. However, I feel confident in writing Fabian's feelings...all he can do is stand to the side and watch; it's a situation a lot of people can probably relate to. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I don't own _House of Anubis_. kthxbai.**


	14. tell them

**beautiful**

_chapter 14: tell them_

* * *

Wednesday was here, and we were all awake and ready to go by eight o'clock that morning. I sat with Nina in the backseat, and she leaned against me, still exhausted.

"This is so strange," Amber said from the passenger's seat, "I feel like I'm supposed to be driving over here, but…I'm not."

"A lot of things may seem backwards here," Nina's Gran explained, "I guess we Americans just like to do things differently."

"That's alright," Amber replied dreamily, looking out the window, "I like the food!"

We all laughed, and for the first time in a while, Nina was genuinely smiling. I looked at her in wonder, knowing that it was her smile I first fell in love with. She noticed I was staring, and met my gaze, furrowing her eyebrows.

"What?" she asked skeptically. I leaned down and kissed her quickly before replying, "You're very beautiful."

She wrapped her arms around my waist, hugging me close.

"Fabian?" Nina whispered.

"Yes?" I answered softly.

"I love you," she rested her cheek against my arm, and I pulled her a little closer.

"The feeling's mutual," I kissed her forehead, and she sighed. But it wasn't a sigh of contentment.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, and she took a shaky breath.

"I'm just really nervous," she said, gazing blankly out the window. I kissed the top of her head, and caught the familiar scent of her shampoo. I stroked her arm, silently comforting her, although (like most days lately) I wasn't sure exactly how much good I was doing.

* * *

I've never liked hospitals; now I have one more reason to dislike them. Nina was in a hospital gown, lying on a sterile, cold hospital bed, and hooked up to what seemed like a million different machines. The doctor was explaining how Nina's treatment would work.

"The results of the spinal tap showed that there were no leukemia cells in your cerebrospinal fluid," he began, and I shuddered internally. I was glad I didn't have to see the spinal tap; I didn't even want to imagine my poor Nina being stuck in the back with a huge needle for half an hour.

"That's good, right?" Nina asked, and the doctor nodded.

"It's very good," he replied with a slight smile, "It means we caught it early. Now, your first chemotherapy treatment, which starts today, is going to be very intense. You may feel fatigued, nauseous, or have some pain. These are just side effects. The goal of treatment is to quickly destroy the leukemia cells. You'll have to stay here in the hospital for the duration of the treatment, which is about a week. You are then allowed around three weeks to recover from the treatment."

"Do I have to stay here for the recovery period?" Nina inquired.

"It depends on your state," the doctor said, "But if your side effects are mild, you can return home under the monitoring of a nurse."

I could understand why Nina was so nervous. This treatment might double what she's already been feeling. But if it meant her being cured, well…nothing was more important than that.

"We're going to inject two drugs intravenously," the doctor explained as a nurse wheeled in a cart with bags and needles, "They are called 'Cytarabine' and 'Daunorubicin'. The Cytarabine is necessary to the treatment, but if your side effects are too severe, we can try replacing the Daunorubicin with another drug called 'Idarubicin'. We're using the chemo port we put in your chest at the last appointment."

Nina shuddered slightly while the nurse began attaching new tubes to Nina and hanging up the corresponding bags next to the machines. The chemo port is a wire that feeds into the artery under the collar bone, the doctor had clarified; a wrist IV couldn't be used because the chemotherapy drugs would destroy Nina's veins in a matter of minutes.

"Is that it?" Nina asked a few moments later. The doctor nodded. He explained that Nina would be monitored over the next week to see how she was responding to treatment, and left. I sat beside Nina and cradled her hand in mine.

"It's not so bad," she said, squeezing my hand, "I was afraid they'd give me like a ton of shots or put me in a huge machine or something." Nina's Gran took Nina's other hand gently, and Amber came to stand beside me. We were all chatting for a few minutes, but then, my cell phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hi, Fabian!" I heard Joy's voice on the other end.

"Hey," I replied, and Nina looked at me, silently asking who it was. I mouthed Joy's name, and I think I heard Nina groan quietly.

"I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie in an hour?" Joy asked, "I figured a six o'clock showing would be best, since it's already five and most people would have gone during the day."

"Uh," I hesitated, "I…I can't."

"Oh," she sounded disappointed.

"Normally, I would," I replied quickly, "It's just—I'm not really _around_."

"Well, where are you?"

"I'm in Baltimore, with Nina."

"When did you go there?" she asked, shocked, "I didn't think you were going anywhere this summer!"

"I wasn't, originally," I explained, "But something…came up."

"Is everything okay?" Joy asked, concerned, "Mick told me that he thought something happened, but he never told me you went to America!"

"Well—" I started to say something, but Amber took my phone.

"Hi, Joy, it's Amber," Amber began.

"You're there, too?" I heard Joy scream from the other end, "What's going on? Something can't be right."

"If you can get everyone on a multi-way call, we'll put you on speaker and explain," Amber said shortly. We waited roughly twenty minutes before Patricia, Mara, Mick, Alfie, and Jerome's voices echoed greetings from the receiver.

"Hi, everyone," Amber said, "It's me, Amber, here with Fabian and Nina. You're all on speakerphone."

"Amber, what's going on?" Joy demanded, "Why are you and Fabian suddenly in America?"

"What?" someone shouted, and I didn't have time to tell who it was before everyone started reacting in their own way.

"Hey! Everyone! CALM DOWN!" I practically shouted into the receiver; it was a good thing the door to the hospital room was closed.

"Fabian, what's going on?" Mick asked, "I know something isn't right, mate."

Everyone waited for someone to speak, and Nina decided to say something. She took the phone from Amber.

"Hi," she said timidly into the receiver, "It's Nina."

Everyone muttered 'hello' from the phone, and Mara piped up.

"Nina, are you alright?" she asked, "You don't sound like yourself."

"I'm, uh," I heard Nina's voice break, and I saw tears begin to well in her eyes. I held her hand again, and kissed her forehead. She took a deep breath before continuing.

"No, I'm not okay," Nina continued, "I'm in the hospital."

Again, everyone's voice echoed at once, asking what happened and if Nina was okay and why she was there. Once they all quieted down, Nina spoke once more.

"I…I have leukemia." A silent tear trailed slowly down Nina's cheek as a hushed 'oh my God' rang from the receiver, followed by a barrage of apologies and concerns.

"Fabian," Mick's voice rang clear over the others, "Why didn't you tell me the other day when I called?"

"Why didn't someone say something in the first place?" Patricia also demanded, and I spoke before everyone was in an uproar again.

"Look," I began firmly, "I pretty much got on a plane right after I found out. It's been a rough week and my main concern wasn't exactly broadcasting it to the world."

"We're just concerned," Mara replied gently, "We all care about Nina, too, and we've just been worried."

Amber softly took the phone from Nina and turned off speaker, speaking softly into the receiver. I sighed heavily, and Nina squeezed my hand.

"It's good that they know," she whispered, "It will save us from a lot of explanation in the future."

"I suppose you're right," I looked into her eyes, which were still wet. I wiped away the tear that had fallen a moment ago, and kissed her cheek.

"I'm glad you're here, with me," she whispered, never breaking our eye contact. I answered her with a soft kiss. I was glad to be with her, but I'd rather it was any other situation that had brought us back together.

* * *

**A/N: One of the longer chapters...this one's pretty intense. I've done extensive research to the best of my ability, so hopefully everything is as accurate as possible. Anyway, there's not much else for me to say here...enjoy your Monday and the rest of your week! im on vacation and updating from my phone, otherwise i wouldnt have been able to put this up on time. thank the Lord for smartphones. Keep those reviews coming ;) I don't own _House of Anubis_. kaybye.**


	15. promise

**beautiful**

_chapter 15: promise_

* * *

By the end of Nina's first treatment, she was definitely feeling the side effects. I wrapped my arm protectively around her waist as we left the hospital after seven days of intense treatments. I felt tired _for_ her.

The three weeks of recovery that followed were spent trying to forget about this whole thing; we were just enjoying our time together. The doctors said it was too early for a definitive prognosis, and even though Nina has a fighting chance, they can't be sure. Either Nina's Gran never conveyed this message to Nina, or Nina simply doesn't care.

The day before Nina's second round of chemotherapy happened to be July 7th, her birthday.

It was Joy's birthday as well, and I called her that morning before Nina woke up to wish her well. After this, I made Nina her favourite breakfast food: waffles. She didn't like pancakes, even though it was the same batter; she claimed waffles just tasted better. I brought this to her as breakfast in bed, along with hot chocolate.

"Hi," she greeted me with a groggy voice as I entered her room. I helped her sit up and placed the tray gently in her lap.

"Happy Birthday," I smiled at her as I said this, and she smiled gratefully back.

"Thank you," Nina gazed hungrily at the food. She began to devour it hungrily, and I chuckled.

"Slow down," I joked, "It's not going to disappear."

"It will when I'm through with it," she retorted playfully, causing chuckles to ring out from both of us.

* * *

That afternoon, Nina's American friends came to the house to celebrate her birthday. We ate cake and ice cream, then gathered in the living room to watch Nina's favourite movie, _Mean Girls_.

"Do you even go to this school?" One of the character's voices echoed from the television set.

"No," another character sobbed back, "I just have a lot of feelings."

Both Nina and Amber burst into a fit of giggles at this line, as did Courtney, Julie, and Veronica. Evan, Jake, and I were completely lost.

The movie ended, and the girls were still laughing.

"Okay, that is the _best_ movie ever!" Nina enthused, and the other girls agreed wholeheartedly.

"It was…funny, I suppose," I mused, and Nina just looked at me before she replied,

"Well…it's more of a girl's movie, anyway."

"Oh, Nines!" Amber exclaimed suddenly, "You should open your presents!"

"Okay!" Nina smiled as Amber deposited a large, very pink, wrapped package into Nina's lap.

"Happy Birthday!" Amber gushed, and Nina tore through the pink paper. After discarding the packaging, Nina revealed a large scrapbook.

"Aww, Amber!" Nina said, "Thank you so much! This is amazing…it must have taken you forever!"

"But I love to scrapbook," Amber reminded her best friend, "It's every picture I could find from this past semester. I also dedicated a few pages solely to you and Fabian."

Nina blushed profusely as she turned to this specific section.

"Amber," Nina sounded concerned, "How did you get some of these pictures?"

"Umm…" Amber hesitated, "I…well…"

"You spied on us, didn't you?" I asked her, and she nodded her head sheepishly.

Nina just laughed, and hugged Amber, thanking her for the present.

"Mine next!" Courtney handed Nina a green bag with blue tissue paper.

"You girls wrap everything so neatly," Jake complained, "I wrapped mine in newspaper."

"I offered to wrap yours for you," Julie countered, "But you wouldn't have it."

Nina stopped the twins before they could begin bickering when she opened Courtney's gift. It was a shadow box style picture frame, with a picture of Nina with all of her American friends inside. Underneath, it read, "Friends Forever".

"Coco, it's so awesome," Nina gasped, "Thank you!"

Jake and Julie simultaneously offered their gifts next, so Nina opened them at the same time. Julie had given Nina a new set of perfume and scented lotion, while Jake gave Nina a copy of the newest book in her favourite series.

Veronica handed Nina a small box, which in turn contained a dainty charm bracelet. There were two charms already on it, but Veronica explained that more charms could be added.

Evan gave Nina a copy of a new album released recently by her favourite band. She was extremely excited, and couldn't wait to listen to it.

Finally, I handed Nina the small package containing my gift to her. Everyone held their breath as she opened it.

"Oh…" she breathed, smiling widely, "It's so…pretty." Other than these few words, she was absolutely speechless.

Eventually, Nina lifted it out of its box so everyone could see. It was a small silver locket hanging on a delicate chain.

"Fabian, did you pick that out all on your own?" Amber asked, astonished.

"As a matter of fact, I did, Miss Millington," I replied playfully, "I'm happy you approve."

* * *

We spent the rest of the night listening to Nina's new CD and talking about trivial things. Courtney and Julie were sharing the latest gossip with Amber, who was listening intently. Veronica and Jake were cuddling on the sofa, and Evan sprawled out quite comfortably on the adjacent armchair. Nina sat cross-legged on the floor across from me, her CD player between us, on a low volume.

"I love this album," Nina whispered as the final song drew to a close, "Can you see why they're my favorite band?"

"What're they called again?" I asked, only half-serious. My question drew a giggle from her as she shoved the CD case in my hands.

"Nickelback," Nina ran her finger over the name printed on the cover, "So many people _hate_ them, and I have no idea why. Coco, Evan, and I grew up listening to them."

"I think they're pretty good," I replied, eyeing the cover more carefully. I looked up to meet Nina's eyes, and she looked worried.

"Are you okay?" I asked her softly.

"Yeah," she replied hesitantly, "I'm just thinking about tomorrow."

"Everything will be fine," I assured her with a smile, "I promise."

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the delay with this update. Nothing's been going on, other than lots and lots of tennis practice, and summer reading. The only reason this is going up late is because of my own laziness; this chapter wasn't finished in time to be posted on Monday. I promise I'll continue writing ahead for the rest of this week! Hopefully I finish writing the story before school starts so that everything is in the Doc Manager and I just have to add the chapters every Monday. If everything goes according to plan, the final chapter (Chapter 20) will be posted on September 26th. Mark your calendars! Again, I'm sorry this was late :[ I don't own _House of Anubis_ or Nickelback (who, unfortunately, has yet to come out with a new album). See you next Monday! :]**


	16. just love

**beautiful**

_chapter 16: just love_

* * *

The next morning it seemed like we already had a routine set, even though this was only Nina's second treatment. We left at exactly eight in the morning, a little less nervous now that we knew what to expect. Amber and Nina were singing along to a pop song that came on the radio, and I couldn't resist tapping my foot to the beat. After they belted out the last note together, they broke out in a fit of giggles.

"Remember when we first heard that song, and you thought it was _dreadful_?" Amber reminisced, and Nina was quick to reply.

"I didn't say it was _dreadful_," Nina defended, "I just didn't like it at first. But it's grown on me."

I was glad to see that Nina's mood had improved considerably since her diagnosis. We all had a good feeling that she would pull through, especially with her heightened morale.

* * *

As the week drew to a close, the doctors delivered some disheartening news. Nina would have to stay in the hospital until further notice; they had done more tests, and the results weren't the best, but they weren't terrible either. They just needed to do some monitoring.

* * *

It was the middle of July now, and I had taken to staying at the hospital some nights to keep Nina company. We would talk late into the night and fall asleep between hushed conversations.

One particular night, Nina and I were in a deep conversation about her illness. I had wanted to take her mind off of it, but she insisted.

"Fabian, I—" she began to say something, but stopped herself. I gently took her hand.

"What is it?" I asked her softly.

"Well, I…" she hesitated again, "I've been thinking about…"

Nina trailed off and the room was left in silence, the beeping of the heart monitor echoing loudly. She sat up in her bed, lost in thought. I sat patiently beside her.

"I've been thinking," Nina began again after what seemed like hours of waiting, "About what would happen…if I didn't make it."

It felt like the bottom of my stomach dropped with the weight of an anchor, and that I was choking on the very air I was breathing.

"Nina, no," I managed to whisper, "Please, please don't say things like that."

"Well, it could happen," Nina replied, even though she saw the hurt in my eyes, "I know it hurts to think about, and I'm scared, too, but…"

"But what, Nina?" I tried to keep my voice steady, but it was failing me, "Why are you thinking this way?"

"Oh, I don't know," she suddenly retorted with tears building in her eyes, "Maybe the fact that I have a life-threatening disease? And the doctors can only do so much and if it gets to a point where nothing more can be done and I'm still not getting any better, then we'll have to face the subject, Fabian, and—"

I cut her off with a fierce kiss, and the tears began streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry," I apologized with a breathy voice when we broke apart, "I didn't want to upset you. I just hate hearing you talk like that."

I reached up with a soft touch to wipe her tears away. She gripped my hand as it fell from her face, and smiled at me.

"I didn't mean to freak out at you," Nina shook her head at her own behavior, then continued, "I just…I was trying to get to the point and went off on that ridiculous tangent."

"What point were you trying to make, exactly?" I asked with a smirk, even though I was genuinely confused.

"Well…" Nina was hesitating again, and it concerned me slightly.

"Fabian, I…" she sighed, "I need you to do something for me."

"Anything, love," I replied eagerly.

"Well, you see, I think we should, y'know," Nina said nervously, "Take things to…the next level."

"What?" I asked with a small smile, even though I was genuinely baffled.

"Don't laugh, I'm trying to be serious," Nina retorted, "I want to…do it."

I think I finally realized what she was saying.

"Oh," I whispered in revelation, "Ohh…"

"Um, never mind," she said quickly, "I am so embarrassed. Forget I ever said that."

* * *

It was later into the night, and the room was lit by the moon and a small lamp at Nina's side. We had sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes, but quickly fell back into conversation about other things.

"Nina," I said suddenly, and her eyes met mine, signaling me that she was giving me her full attention.

"About what you said, earlier…"

Her face flushed to a deep red.

"Oh, gosh, please don't mention that," she laughed, "I'm so stupid."

"I don't think it's stupid," I replied, taking her hand in mine, "But maybe you should've practiced a little?"

We both laughed a little before I began to speak again.

"Do you really…want to?" I asked her. She giggled once more, blushing.

"Well…yeah," she answered, "I really love you, Fabian."

"I love you, too," I spoke truthfully, and our eyes met once more. This time, the gaze reached deeper. Our lips met softly at first, and with the slight hesitation purely from not knowing where this would lead us, we continued.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up with Nina in my arms. The sun shone softly over us, and I looked for something that would tell me what time it is. Amber had said that she was coming to the hospital around ten o'clock. When I found my cell-phone, it told me that the time was only nine o'clock. Nevertheless, I stretched and gently woke up Nina.

"Hey," I whispered, "Amber's coming in an hour."

"Oh, okay," she replied, yawning and smiling at me. She reached up and tousled my hair, and I smiled back.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, sorry about no update last week. I start school tomorrow and it's kind of a miracle that I finished this today. I know it got a little awkward there in the middle, but not everything can be as passionate as we see in the movies. I think the awkwardness makes it more realistic. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'll hopefully see you next Wednesday.**


	17. why i've been gone

After about ten months since my last update, it's time I explained why there haven't been any new chapters.

I've moved on.

I've lost my desire to write anymore. I've gotten busier with school and friends and my boyfriend and I just don't have the time or energy to dedicate to this story.

When I write, I write because I don't like the way my life is going. This drives me to want to create a better life for my characters. Finally, for the first time in a very long time, I am genuinely happy. And as weird as it sounds, I just don't know how I can translate that into my writing.

I'm sorry that I'm leaving this story unfinished. I had a plan, I knew how I wanted everything to pan out, but I just don't know how to write it. I'd rather leave this here, as is, than try to rush and finish and give it a crappy ending.

If you really want to know how the story will end, PM me. I'll gladly tell you. No, I won't give you the last few chapters – I never wrote them. I can tell you my basic plan for the end in simple language.

I hate leaving it like this, I really do. But the passion for writing was lost when things started turning around for me.

Maybe someday I'll figure out how to translate my happiness into my writing…but as of right now, the only way for me to write well was to translate my pain. And my pain is gone.

* * *

_stay in touch: _**tumblr** = theonlyhopeforme-isy0u

**twitter **= mjperks


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